Dynamite in Short Hills? Neighbors protest

"Fire in the hole!" is what miners shout to warn of an impending blast of dynamite.

Township residents opposed to a contractor's plans to use explosives for a residential construction on Dorison Drive won't even get that much warning if the blasting is approved.

A handful of Dorison Drive and Sinclair Terrace residents attending the May 7 Township Committee meeting heard a lawyer for the municipality explain that the township's hands are tied when it comes to regulating the use of explosives, even in a residential area.

The site in question is a three-acre lot at 30 Dorison Drive. According to township tax rolls, the property is currently owned by township residents Stanley and Amy Burakovsky. The contractor is Grabowski Construction. According to attorney Andrew Brewer of Maraziti, Falcon & Healey, the permit to blast apparently has been made by a subcontractor, Effie Construction. The blasting reportedly is needed to clear bedrock for the foundation and retaining wall for construction of a residential home.

"The state sets the rules," said Brewer. He said blasting is regulated by the state statute, the Explosives Act. "This act supersedes any local ordinance or resolution regarding explosives." The act covers the use, detonation, storage and transfer of explosives, he explained, and is enforced by the state's Department of Labor and the Department of Community Affairs.

The only local input comes from a municipality's fire department, which must approve a permit after a review of all aspects presented in an application to blast; however, Brewer noted that if the applicant complies with all state regulations, the fire department will have no choice but to issue the permit.

At the meeting, residents of the neighborhood voiced deep concern that any blasting would be allowed.

Barry Weinstein, who lives close to the building site, told the Committee that John Jordan, the Department of Labor representative who will monitor the proposed blasting, has already met with residents and was anything but reassuring.

"He said the blasting will shake our houses, 100 percent! Our pool will crack," Weinstein said. Weinstein said the blasting would take place twice a day for 20 days. Weinstein noted that the building site abuts the South Mountain Reservation and there are often hikers on nearby trails. "We get no warning," he said. "Is there no accountability that he has? What if something goes wrong?"

Other residents noted that Jordan told them that if they sued for damage to their homes because of the blasting, he would testify on behalf of the contractors, not the neighbors.

Mayor Sandra Haimoff asked Brewer if there was anything in the regulations that rules in favor of the township if detrimental effects outweigh the benefits, but the attorney said the matter of neighbors is not addressed.

"There's not a provision for not doing it," he said.

Asked how the matter could have reached this point without input from the township, Haimoff explained that the builder apparently didn't have to go before the zoning or planning boards because he did not require any variances.

The Committee's attorney, Christopher Falcon, noted, "It is more easy for a contractor to dig holes in the ground and drop dynamite in them than it is for a resident to build a fence."

The residents asked the municipality to support them in their fight against the blasting on a constitutional level, claiming it would be a deprivation of their property.

"I agree with you," Haimoff responded. "I understand the legal restraints. The matter is being thoroughly, completely, methodically investigated," she said, promising to keep the residents informed of the status of the permit and any other developments.

The Item of Millburn and Short Hills attempted to contact Stanley Burakovsky, but was unable to do so before this story went to press.

Litigation

In another residential matter raised at the meeting, the Committee said it is in receipt of correspondence from the federal Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the United States Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey, investigating the municipality's "actions in relation to the proposed development of property in the Township by Rabbi Mendel Bogomilsky."

In response, the Committee moved to retain the services of Jonathan L. Goldstein, a former United States Attorney for New Jersey, to act as special counsel for the township in the matter.

In February 2012, the Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected a site plan application from Bogomilsky and his Chai Center congregation to build a synagogue on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Old Short Hills Road. The board ruled the 1.8 acres of property in a residential area was too small for construction of a house of worship.